TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD Measuring Toxic Mercury in the Arctic Ocean

Join Katlin Bowman, as she discusses an Arctic expedition and her inspiration for writing a book for kids and young adults To the Top of the World: One Scientist’s Expeditions to the North Pole.

Many predatory marine mammals and seabirds in the Arctic contain high levels of mercuryâ€"a toxic metal known to disrupt neurological, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems. Varying levels of mercury in marine mammals throughout the Arctic point to a number of possible sources. Yet due to the remoteness and extreme conditions, there is little information about this.

In 2015, a team of 50 scientists from across the United States spent more than two months on a Coast Guard icebreaker mapping the chemistry of the Arctic Ocean from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to the North Pole. As part of this team, Katlin Bowman is trying to understand how warming temperatures and disappearing ice cover will affect Arctic ecosystems during the next century.